


Past-Future Tense

by hearteating



Category: Terminator (Movies)
Genre: Bittersweet, F/F, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:40:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hearteating/pseuds/hearteating
Summary: Most of the time she doesn't think about time travel, or the Grace that no longer exists except in Dani's memory. But then Grace will volunteer for a mission, and it all comes rushing back.In the future, Dani tries to stop thinking about all the ways time travel has affected her life.
Relationships: Grace Harper/Dani Ramos
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 5





	Past-Future Tense

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ruuger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruuger/gifts).



> I was really excited to see you were interested in the time travel fuckery aspect of Dani/Grace- it's one of my favorite things to think about with them! Hope you enjoy!

This Grace isn't the same as her Grace, just like Dani wasn't her Grace's General. Their second meeting meant their first never happened. They were both loyal to memories. To potential.

Fucking time travel.

Maybe neither of their future-pasts or past-futures matter though, because they keep coming together. Maybe the only thing that matters is that they are Dani and Grace. Maybe Grace first kisses Dani after a planning session in every timeline, or maybe it's just this one. Maybe there's a past where Dani has stopped LEGION before it had a chance to start, and this whole timeline no longer exists. The thought never fails to make Dani pull Grace a little closer, kiss her a little deeper, fuck her a little harder.

 _It's not worth thinking about_ , Sarah had told her when Dani got too caught up in all the possibilities of time travel. Real is what you make it, so it's best to focus on what's in front of you. Too much worrying about all the possibilities would make you crazy; she would know.

Most of the time, Dani doesn't have time to think about it. The fight against LEGION is hard, and leading the resistance is harder. So many people to take care of, petty arguments to deal with, logistics to worry about. If Dani only falls asleep on her feet once a week, she counts it a good one. Her time with Grace is the closest she gets to relaxing, even if they don't exactly rest when they're together.

So yeah. Most of the time she doesn't think about time travel, or the Grace that no longer exists outside Dani's memory. But then Grace will volunteer for a mission, and it all comes rushing back. 

If the day comes, when it comes, will Dani let Grace go back to protect her? How can she, knowing what will happen? And how can she not, knowing she is who she is because it was Grace who had gone back for her and not anyone else? Dani gives herself a headache thinking herself in circles.

So. _Real is what you make it. Focus on what's in front of you_.

When Dani cups the back of Grace's neck, it's real. When Grace wraps herself around Dani like a bulletproof overcoat, it's real. When they go out together to fight against LEGION, to fight for humanity, it's real. If Dani sometimes finds herself tracing the lines of half-remembered scars on Grace's skin, that's real too, but not as real as the look in Grace's eyes.

The past has already happened, and may happen again. The future is ahead, and also behind. So Dani tries her best to live in the present, and most of the time, her best is enough.


End file.
